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Sinking

The cruise ship Costa Concordia leans on its side Monday, Jan.16, 2012, after running aground near the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, last Friday. The rescue operation was called off mid-afternoon Monday after the Costa Concordia shifted a few inches (centimeters) in rough seas. The fear is that if the ship shifts significantly, some 500,000 gallons of fuel may begin to leak. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Environmental fears mount in Italian cruise wreck

Frances D'Emilio, Nicole Winfield The Associated Press

Last updated Monday, January 16, 2012 - 5:25pm

ROME -- Italy's cruise liner tragedy turned into an environmental crisis Monday, as rough seas battering the stricken mega-ship raised fears that fuel might leak into pristine waters off Tuscany that are part of a protected sanctuary for dolphins, porpoises and whales.

The ship's jailed captain, meanwhile, lost the support of the vessel's Italian owner as he battled prosecutors' claims that he caused the deadly wreck that killed at least six and left 29 missing.

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Oil removal ships near the cruise ship Costa Concordia leaning on its side Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, after running aground near the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, last Friday night. The rescue operation was called off mid-afternoon Monday after the Costa Concordia shifted a few inches (centimeters) in rough seas. The fear is that if the ship shifts significantly, some 500,000 gallons of fuel may begin to leak into the pristine waters. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Couple survives cruise ship sinking: 'We've been blessed'

Susan Miller Degnan The Miami Herald

Last updated Monday, January 16, 2012 - 3:53pm

As thousands of screaming men, women and children ran for their lives Friday night amid the sinking Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy, Karen Camacho feared she and her husband wouldn't make it out alive.

So, the Florida mother of two young sons waiting back home began to sob.

And pray.

Cruise ship, Sinking, Survival, Tourism, International Read more Comments

The luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia leans after it ran aground off the coast of Isola del Giglio island, Italy, gashing open the hull and forcing some 4,200 people aboard to evacuate aboard lifeboats to the nearby Isola del Giglio island, early Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012. About 1,000 Italian passengers were onboard, as well as more than 500 Germans, about 160 French and about 1,000 crew members. (AP Photo/Giorgio Fanciulli, Giglionews.it)

Cruise ship sinks off the coast of Italy

The Associated Press

Last updated Monday, January 16, 2012 - 1:14pm

Cruise ship, Disaster, Sinking, Slideshow, Deaths, Featured Read more Comments

The luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia lays on its side after running aground the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012. A luxury cruise ship ran aground off the coast of Tuscany, sending water pouring in through a 160-foot (50-meter) gash in the hull and forcing the evacuation of some 4,200 people from the listing vessel early Saturday, the Italian coast guard said. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Night of chaos, fear after cruise ship ran aground

Frances D’emilio, Nicole Winfield The Associated Press

Last updated Saturday, January 14, 2012 - 5:02pm

PORTO SANTO STEFANO, Italy — The first course had just been served in the Costa Concordia’s dining room when the wine glasses, forks and plates of cuttlefish and mushrooms smashed to the ground. At the magic show in the theater, the trash cans tipped over and the theater curtains turned on their side. Then the hallways turned upside down, and passengers crawled on bruised knees through the dark. Others jumped alone into the cold Mediterranean Sea.

Cruise ship, Sinking, Accident, International Read more Comments